OPINION:
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s comments during a recent interview have Chinese officials rattling their sabres as echos of WWII hatreds raise their ugly heads. The Chinese government said it was on “high alert against Japan’s attempt to poke its nose in the issue of the South China Sea,” where China has been building man-made islands that could threaten global shipping lanes in the future.
“Japan, he says, ’harbors very strong concern’ over China’s building of artificial islands in the South China Sea and its attempts to develop resources in the East China Sea close to Japan, [with Abe] calling for the international community to ’raise its voice’,” quoted the Financial Times.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei told reporters Beijing was within its rights to build on the territory on the Spratly Islands [Nansha] and again called out Japan for its record in World War II.
“Construction by China on relevant islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands falls within China’s sovereignty. It is legitimate, reasonable and justified. Japan once snatched from China islands in the South China Sea during the Second World War. The Chinese government retrieved them after the War. Japan should reflect upon rather than forget what it has done during the aggression, act and speak cautiously on issues concerning the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and make more efforts to increase mutual trust with its neighbors and promote regional peace and stability instead of sowing discord.”
Last year, Japan declared it reserves the right to patrol the area in the South China Sea, where the Chinese installations are being built, but has no plans to do so. The United States has sent naval patrols in the area to reinforce international freedom of the seas and has flown bombers over the islands.
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